Taste is pretty bad. It basically consists of some off-putting weak lemon and an odd sour taste...kind of like sour cheese. Not good. Carbonation seems low too. Also, there aren't any hops in this, so it seems. Just boring.

Got this one on a whim. Haven't tried much else in the stlye. Let's see.

A: Golden yellow with a small 1 inch white head that quickly fades. Decent.

S: Hmm, just kind of smells like urine. Gross...

T: Man, tastes like a mix of dirty water and trash. Oh man. Kind of like puke! Disgusting. The flavors are a horrible blend! I get a little beef stew flavor blended in. Gross...

M: Does not leave much on the palate. Ok.

D: Goes down a little harder than I would have liked. This one is just gross.

All in all, nope, nope, nope! This brew is pretty disgusting. I do not say that about many. The flavors bouncing around in this brew just are not complex at all and do not compliment each other in any good ways. Avoid, at all costs!

Aroma: Faint aromas of corrugated cardboard dipped in butterscotch are most prominent. Behind the first impression it is very lightly malty. Very light noble hop bittering aroma - barely distinguishable.

Appearance: Warm pale yellow color. Very clear. A little bit of white fine bubbled head that dissipates quickly and has negligible lacing.

Flavor: Very light and malt profile like Pale or Pilsner malts. Hop bittering is fairly light - a bit of indistinguishable noble hop character. Very slight carbonate profile, like mineral water - though it could be partly from the carbonation. Balances and nothing stands out in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium light body and carbonation. A little bit slick in the finish. And slightly dry. Doesn't change in the finish.

Overall Impression: Lands somewhere between Budweiser and Samuel Adams Boston Lager - just a little more ale fruitiness and body. It was drinkable enough to finish the 12oz, but I wouldn't be interested in another.

This is the second offering I have tried from Mendocino. I really enjoyed their oatmeal stout and has hoping to get the same satisfaction from the Blonde Ale.

I didn't.

The pour was nice. Plenty of carbonation and a nice head. It even laced well throughout the drinking.

I'm not going to lie, I like my beers on the hoppy side, which is probably one reason that this beer seemed really flat on flavor. In fact, I'd call it just a step up from, say, Coor's Light. There is nothing really BAD about it, but there is nothing really good either.

In some aspects, it's almost like drinking beer flavored water.

In supposed a redeeming value would be that this would be an ideal beer to introduce to a mainstream beer drinking friend who has been to afraid to try craft beer in because it might be too strong or weird. Call it a gateway beer, I guess. But I can still think of other beers I would defer to first.

OK, this is distressing. I hate this new "trend" in American Craft Brewing wherein the brewers try to disguise what, for all intents and purposes, is a "light beer" by calling it something else. Stone paraded out their Levitation ale, and it sucks ass. Although this is better, and appears to actually be a real beer and not a "light", "lite" or whatever "L...t" type of marketing ploy you use to describe it as, it still fails to live up to the expectations I would have of one of America's oldest and most traditional brewers. Very pale yellow in color, almost lemonade like. Pours with a sprtizy head and stays fairly well carbonated. Nose is very malty and a little bit floral. So far, not too bad. One sip, though, and you know something is amiss. The flavor starts off very malty and quickly dissipates into a very long, and super thin finish. You've had this style of beer before, and without naming names, you probably stopped drinking it in the 11th grade when you found something better. It definitely has the characteristics of a traditional Blonde, but lacks any hint of Belgian spiciness. This is more an American-style pilsner, but not very pilsner-ish. This is not good, and is overpriced when you think of the other beers of the same style you can buy. This is, to me, the end of an era...

Pours pale golden with no head to speak of. The aroma is sour and butterscotchy. The flavor is butterscotchy and grainy,round and flabby. thick and toffeelike with a sour bitterness on the finish. Neither appealing nor pleasant.

This was given to me in a summer sampler as a gift from my neighbors (for letting them use the pool this summer). The thought was nice, and there was also a 12 of GReat LAkes in there, but this one was pretty foul.

There are aftertastes of rotten fruit and just plain nasty things. This one may be bolder than others of the style, but it quickly tastes bad.

In the end I just rushed through it to get rid of the beer, but it was not a good experience.

A: Pours a pale yellow color with virtually no head. It looks pretty dull and has minimal carbonation.

S: Grassy corn aromas come through along with some malts and a subtle lemony citrus. However, there is also a skunky quality to the smell that hinders most other aromas.

T: The taste is comprised of tangy citrus with some malts and a light bitterness. Unfortunately, the taste also has that skunk-like sensation. It isn't terribly unpleasant, but it does block other qualities.

M: It is medium bodied, has minimal carbonation and is thin with an almost watery feel.

O: This isn't really my favorite style to begin with, but I have certainly had better offerings. I usually enjoy Mendocino's beers, but I think I will pass on this one in the future.

Pours light gold with almost no head. Aromas are faint and characterless, perhaps a touch of grain. Taste just plain bad. Flavor is comprised mainly of grainy malts and lots of skunk with something like rotten lemons that only make it worse. Thin body is unappealing. I will not buy this one again.

12oz longneckA) Pours with a finger thick head that sticks around - great retention. Clear golden body. Upward carbonation.S) Grainy. Subtle floral notes. Not very aromatic and quite dull.T) Astringent taste. Grainy with slight malty sweetness. M) Fizzy. Light body. Dry finish.O) Not a very good beer. I will not be having another one of these. The initial astringency was unappealing.

I have had this bottle for 3 months without even knowing it until today.Poured into a standard pint glass a pale light golden with a thin wispy white head that was gone in a hurry.some butteriness and light toast in the nose and thats about it,pretty ho hum.Watery and sharp in the mouth,kinda unpleasant in that aspect.Slightly buttery flavors along with some toasted cereal grain,pretty much thats it.I wish I wouldnt have found it really,just a bland beer,the butteriness doesnt help the drinkablility,I dont think it would be all that good on a hot day either.